The sheer mention of the high school homecoming parade usually
either invokes euphoria or promotes apathy.
But playwright Katherine Ruppe wants to rekindle an interest in
the topic.
A second-year screenwriting graduate student, Ruppe wrote the
one-act play “American Darlings,” which takes a glimpse
into the lives of two high school sweethearts: the king, Brent,
played by fourth-year theater student Matt Gilliam, and the queen,
Sharri, played by fourth-year theater student Erika Whalen. The
conflict ensues while on their parade route atop the float. Ruppe
calls her play “sex, drugs and marching band
music.”
“I always thought about the parades I used to go to in
Michigan, and I wondered what it’s really like in those
floats,” Ruppe said. “I tried to dream up the most
truthful craziness.”
Drawing upon her small-town upbringing and her own high school
experience, Ruppe wanted to address issues of all teens ““
their hopes and dreams past the limitations of high school and
hometown.
“At first it seems like this farce of high school,”
said Elizabeth Wigell, a third-year theater student who plays the
runner-up for the homecoming queen crown.
“This love triangle ““ jealousy, references to
popularity and sports, but all these other issues come up ““
life after high school, getting out of a small town, and because we
are on this float the whole time, there is no escape, which is how
many people feel in high school.”
Director David Harris, a second-year graduate film student, also
wanted to fight the high school stereotype and help the actors make
their characters real.
He had them literally step out of the rehearsal box and into
UCLA’s recent homecoming parade.
“It was a way to make it real, this is how loud the parade
is, where people are looking, how people scream,” Harris
said.
“Everybody had these preconceived half-memories of
homecoming in high school which is half real, half what they saw on
TV. I wanted to make it real ““ a lived experience, not just
some stereotype acted out.”
Behind Harris’ guidance, the actors had to try and find a
realness in their high school memories.
“Nobody really wants to relive high school, but if
you’re going to, this is one painless way to do it,”
Whalen said.